Dickinson schools size up enrollment, prepares for new school year

Talk about it

In a recent article The Dickinson Press reported that the current population estimate for Dickinson, based on 2010 census data is 17,787. The article further indicated that the city of Dickinson is estimating a population of 25,000 people by 2015. It goes without saying that these numbers potentially present immediate and long-term issues for the Dickinson Public Schools.

At this juncture, the district is most interested in addressing the potential impact in the upcoming school year.

Each summer there are new families who relocate to Dickinson and bring along new students to enroll in the public schools. During the summer, the district is regularly monitoring enrollment numbers to guarantee the schools are properly staffed and students are assigned to the appropriate school building.

If the district experiences a large population influx near or after the beginning of school year the efforts of the district to provide equitable class sizes and the necessary personnel are complicated. Therefore, the district would like to encourage any families who are new to the community or planning to relocate in the near future to register as soon as possible. Currently, there are two avenues available to parents who would like to register their child(ren) in the Dickinson School District.

Last fall, in an effort to improve our registration process, the school district placed all of the forms necessary for registering a kindergarten student, or new student, on the school district website which is www.dickinson.k12.nd.us. Parents may access online forms by opening the “online forms” link on the left side of the page. The “parent” link available in the district area of the Web page contains all necessary forms to register a kindergarten student. The forms required for registering a kindergarten student are noted with an asterisk and include the Family Residency Form, Student Registration Form, Language Form and the AlertNow Form.

The forms required for new students to the district include the Family Residency Form, Student Registration Form, Language Form, AlertNow Form, Request for Student Records, and Questionnaire for students in grades 7-12.

It is important for parents to complete all areas of each form. To open these files the user should first make sure that Adobe Reader at www.adobe.com has been downloaded.

Once the forms are completed online, parents can either save the completed forms to their computer and email them to Sarah Ennis at sarah.ennis@dickinson.k12.nd.us or print and mail them or deliver the information to the Central Administration Office at 444 Fourth St. W. Parents who email the forms to the Central Administration Office will receive an email response indicating they have been received. In either case, all parents are required to come to the Central Administration Office and provide their child’s birth certificate and immunization records.

All forms are available at this time and parents who choose to register online may register at any time. We encourage parents to consider using our online process or to complete these forms prior to visiting the Central Administration Office. This will help to expedite the registration process and, hopefully, be more convenient for parents.

Finally, we request all parents who have or will be relocating to Dickinson to register their child(ren) as soon as possible. This will help the school district guarantee that students are assigned to the appropriate school building and that the necessary personnel for the upcoming school year are hired.

If you have any problems accessing or completing the online forms, please contact the Central Administration staff for assistance.

Sullivan is the Dickinson Public Schools superintendent. Contact him at 701-456-0002 or email douglas.sullivan@dickinson.k12.nd.us.

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